"It was out of this world" - Alastair Cook claims Ben Duckett's shots left Ravichandran Ashwin clueless in 3rd Test

Former England captain Alastair Cook is impressed with opener Ben Duckett’s exceptional batting display on Day 2 of the third Test against India. Alastair Cook said that Ben Duckett dominated Ravichandran Ashwin, who bagged 500 Test wickets, with his sweep shots.

Ben Duckett asserted his dominance against the Indian bowlers from the beginning of his innings. The left-handed batter reached his fifty in just 39 balls. He became the fastest English batsman to score a Test century in India, accomplishing the milestone in 88 balls.

The southpaw remained unbeaten on 133 runs off 118 balls at the end of the second day’s play in the third Test in Rajkot. The opening batter helped the team reach 207/2 after 35 overs in the first innings. Notably, India was bowled out for 445 runs in the first innings.

It Has Been Extraordinary – Alastair Cook

Speaking on TNT Sports, Alastair Cook marveled at Ben Duckett‘s adeptness in executing a range of sweeps against Ravichandran Ashwin, highlighting that remarkable skill is required for such shots.

“Duckett has made a guy with 500 Test wickets [Ashwin] not know where to bowl. It has been extraordinary. The amount of skill you need to play those sweeps, it was out of this world. Wherever they put the fielder, he hit where they weren’t,” Cook said.

“I’d love to know how he does it. Is he picking an area and it goes there regardless, or is it more sophisticated than that?” he added.

Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed Zak Crawley to complete 500 wickets for India in red-ball cricket. The 37-year-old became the second Indian bowler to achieve this milestone in Test cricket. However, he withdrew from the ongoing match due to personal reasons.

India Need To Bowl Well, Not Chase Ben Duckett – Alastair Cook

Alastair Cook emphasized the importance for India to maintain their bowling strategies and not be intimidated by England’s aggressive batting style on Day 3. Cook predicted that England could put India under pressure, especially if Duckett continues his form.

“India need to bowl well and bowl their best ball, not chase Duckett. I think India panicked a bit with the confrontational nature of Bazball,” Cook further stated.

“If England can have a session like they have just had tomorrow, they will be right up with India. They won’t be at 450 by lunch but could be closer to 400 than not. If Duckett keeps going, India will be under huge pressure.”

Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammed Siraj have each taken one wicket, while Jasprit Bumrah, the standout bowler of the series, remained without a wicket on Day 2. The visiting team trailed by 238 runs in the first innings of the match as the second day came to a close.

The Indian team bounced back with two wickets within the first hour of play on the third day. Jasprit Bumrah provided a breakthrough by dismissing Joe Root for 18 runs, while Kuldeep Yadav trapped Jonny Bairstow in front of the stumps, restricting the team to 225/4.

Also read: Watch: Rohit Sharma’s reaction to Ben Duckett’s outrageous reverse-sweep six goes viral